UNC-TV, Public Media North Carolina CPB/Kirby Grant
As North Carolina’s only statewide public media network, Public Media North Carolina’s (PMNC) 12 stations provide all 100 counties with four full-time, unique broadcast program channels including UNC-TV PBS, NC Channel, Rootle UNC-TV’s 24/7 PBS KIDS Channel, and the Explorer Channel. The core vision for PMNC is that it contributes to the greater good as the most respected, relevant and revered media organization in North Carolina.
PMNC has received two grants to support engaging children, families and caregivers with high-quality digital and hands-on educational content and to expand their awareness of early educational services and resources available to them. Through funding by the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, PMNC and other members of the Community Collaborative for Early Learning & Media (CC-ELM) will develop a comprehensive strategy to enhance children’s science and literacy learning in underserved communities and to increase the capacity of communities to support the early learning of high need children. A separate but related grant by the Kirby Foundation aims to expand awareness and use of the Bright by Text platform by directly engaging with FFN (friends, family and neighbor) care providers and to enhance the Bright by Text content delivery platform and expand its reach and user base through workshops, engagement events and trainings.
The purpose of the evaluation work is to conduct a small-scale formative evaluation in order to inform improvements to the initiatives and gather preliminary data on the outcomes and impact of these efforts support program improvement; as well as help align program activities to the PMNC’s broader educational research agenda.
Erin Suzanne Huggins 
Dr Shaun Kellogg